And just like that, the season ends.
It's just not fair if you ask me. The offseason is a
seemingly eternal waiting game for September to finally roll
around, and when it finally gets here, it finishes in a flash.
Sigh. On to the Winter Olympics, then March Madness, then the
NFL draft, then baseball season, then the World Cup to help pass
the time for these next eight months. Since there is no next week
to preview, this week's edition of Takeaways is more of a glimpse
of what to watch out for in 2010.
Browns 23, Jaguars 17
•
Jerome Harrison has had too much strong production
over the last month for it to be accidental. He and
James Davis should form a very nice tandem for the
Browns next season. Running back is one of the very few positions
for which this team has some decent depth, and with the two-back
systems becoming more common in the league, Mike Holmgren will
likely focus on upgrading other offensive positions in the draft.
• Don't forget
Josh Cribbs in the RB mix, by the way. His fantasy
value for next season almost requires a case study since the west
coast offense which Holmgren runs doesn't really utilize wildcat
formations. Not to mention, will the Browns have a new quarterback
running this offense? Lots of uncertainty surrounding a supremely
talented player.
•
David Garrard threw for 202 yards and two scores,
which is about the best you can usually hope for from him on most
weeks. I suspect things will continue to stay the same until the
Jags get a true gamebreaking wideout on their roster.
Mike Sims-Walker isn't it.
Bears 37, Lions 23
• This game was a bit of a bore for a while, then
really got going in the fourth quarter.
Jay Cutler's four-TD day will make his final
TD-to-INT ratio look a little better for his inaugural season in
Chicago and will hopefully give him a little more confidence
heading into next season. Finding a top-flight WR would go a long
way towards making Cutler a more consistent player. Every week,
someone else seemed to emerge as Chicago's "new" WR1.
•
Matt Forte should start his offseason training
regimen soon. Like, tomorrow. It's nice that he ran all over the
Lions this season, but his overall production was a major
disappointment. Right now, he's looking more like a late
second-round pick - at best - in 2010 fantasy drafts.
• What do the Lions do with
Maurice Morris?
Kevin Smith was a disappointment on a weekly
basis. Will we see more of a split workload between the two in
2010?
Texans 34, Patriots 27
•
Matt Schaub gave his owners who still play into
Week 17 a nice going away present of 303 yards and two touchdown
passes.
•
Arian Foster looked as impressive as any running
back the Texans have fielded this season. He did his best to
audition for a share of a split worlkload next season with 119
yards and two scores on the ground. Even when he doesn't play,
Steve Slaton's value continues to decline.
• If
Julian Edelman could somehow find his way onto a
new roster next season, would he become that team's
Wes Welker? Or is he a product of the Patriots
offensive system? After Welker left today's game with an injury,
Edelman picked up the slack and caught 10 balls for 103 yards.
Steelers 30, Dolphins 24
• It was feast or famine for a lot of
Ben Roethlisberger owners as he threw for three
touchdowns in four of his last eight games. Pretty good timing on
his part since it was fantasy playoff time for many of you out
there, but the problem was he threw for zero or one score in three
of his last eight. Starting Big Ben was a volatile roller coaster
ride all season long, but it was one of the best seasons of his
career statistically. I'm not sure what to expect from him in 2010
yet. The Steelers need to address their offensive line if they want
Big Ben to make it out of 2010 alive.
•
Rashard Mendenhall had a similarly maddening
fantasy campaign since he was the type of RB who would rush for a
few good games, then leave you disappointed when you finally took
the plunge and put him into your starting lineup. But how will
Willie Parker fit into Mike Tomlin's plans next
year?
• Like last year,
Davone Bess came on strong and had a few
productive games. Davone, dude ... please carry that momentum into
the beginning of next year. I'm begging you on behalf of your
fantasy owners everywhere. Why does it take you so long to get
going?
Vikings 44, Giants 7
• The Giants have been mailing it in for the last few
weeks, now. So I'll put as much effort into my final thoughts for
them as they put into the last few weeks for their owners: they are
awful.
•
Brett Favre regained some momentum for the
playoffs by throwing for 316 yards and four touchdowns before
leaving the game late. Just an FYI to all the NFL head coaches who
bench their star players in the final weeks ... this is what we'd
like to see from everyone, and I have to believe the Vikings will
function more efficiently in their first playoff game because of
it.
•
Percy Harvin continues to emerge as a WR1, even
though his build scarcely resembles that of a protoypical WR1. I'll
be curious to see how he develops after one full season in the
league, and whether Sidney Rice can continue to produce at such an
insane level all the way into 2010.
49ers 28, Rams 6
• Now that the Rams have secured the first overall pick
in the draft, I'll be stunned if they don't go after a quarterback.
Ndamukong Suh is an awfully tempting addition, but a big reason the
offense is so atrocious is lack of production from whoever has been
under center. It's high time to upgrade the position, boys.
•
Vernon Davis continues to be a beast, and I can't
wait to see how he performs in 2010 after such an explosive season.
The 89-yard, one-TD game was a nice send-off for his owners. I just
hope it wasn't the end of the line. He has my vote for all-fantasy
tight end.
•
Michael Crabtree held out, then eased his way into
the team's offensive gameplan, then started producing, then sort of
faded off into mediocrity. Will he benefit from a full offseason
training regimen with the team? Is he ready to step up and become
the team's true WR1?
Falcons 20, Buccaneers 10
•
Jason Snelling was a beast in the final week.
Sometimes, fantasy football can really be this simple: even backup
running backs can prosper when they face horrible run defenses. Of
course, when
Michael Turner returns next season, all bets are
off for Snelling. Turner had nagging injury issues that bothered
him for most of the season.
•
Matt Ryan played better, but he didn't really
improve as much as I thought he might in his sophomore year. Has he
already hit his ceiling? Or would Atlanta's offense benefit from
the addition of one more top-notch weapon (like a
Braylon Edwards, perhaps, if the Jets don't try to
sign him long-term)?
•
Josh Freeman's topsy-turvy rookie season came to
the kind of conclusion most of us expected. He had his ups and
downs while he learned on the job. As of now, I still don't think
he should be more than a backup QB for most rosters out there.
Tampa Bay also needs to sort out their running game and find a
playmaker at wideout since
Antonio Bryant is a walking injury risk.
Panthers 23, Saints 10
• I don't care what he makes -
Drew Brees deserves a raise. Look at how poorly
this offense functioned without him. Granted,
Mark Brunell didn't have a number of weapons
available to him today, but my point stands. And by the way, I hope
for the sake of Saints fans that Sean Payton knows what he's doing.
I'm not sure treating the final regular season game like a fourth
preseason game is the best way to roll into the playoffs.
• Just like last week,
Jonathan Stewart filled in for the injured
DeAngelo Williams. And, just like last week,
Stewart ran wild by topping 100 yards and scoring a touchdown. You
have to imagine Stewart's fantasy value would skyrocket if he was
some other team's featured back, but he'll still have chances to
tote the rock by himself since DeAngelo can't ever seem to stay
healthy for an entire season.
• Has
Matt Moore earned the starting job in Carolina
next year? He never really posted overwhelming stats, but didn't
need to with such a potent rushing attack behind him. Moore will be
another interesting case study for 2010. Keep an eye on him.
Bills 30, Colts 7
• Even though the Colts may as well have fielded fans
from Indianapolis in their starting 11,
Fred Jackson's 212-yard effort on the ground was
mighty impressive. Even when Indy knew a run was coming, they
couldn't stop it. Jackson hasn't taken the RB1 job away from
Marshawn Lynch completely, but he just might if he
has an excellent preseason next August.
•
Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for three touchdowns in
a driving blizzard is like you or me sinking a shot from half court
in a hurricane. While blindfolded. On our knees. I'm still coming
to grips with this statline and the fact that Fitzpatrick may
actually start in 2010.
• I just have to ask - if you have no intention of
winning the game, then why did coach Caldwell bother bringing
Peyton Manning out at all today?
Cowboys 24, Eagles 0
• This scoreline doesn't even come close to indicating
how lopsided this contest was, and what's worse is Dallas wasn't
even playing at their best. I guess the Eagles decided on a warmup
mulligan for next week's playoff rematch.
•
Brian Westbrook led the Eagles with 17 rushing
yards.
Brent Celek was a beast, but just about everyone
else was invisible in Philly's passing attack. Yes, it really was
that bad.
•
Marion Barber and
Felix Jones eached rushed for 91 yards on the
afternoon, although Jones needed one more carry to do it. When you
realize Tony Romo passed for over 300 yards on the afternoon ...
yup. This was total one-sided domination.
Chiefs 44, Broncos 24
• I've been saying
Jamaal Charles is the real deal for weeks now.
Hardly anyone in my big money league knew who he was when I drafted
him, but if you don't believe in him afterhis 259-yard, two-TD
performance against Denver, I don't know what to tell you. He may
actually be a first-round pick next season.
•
Matt Cassel looked OK, but have we discovered that
his ceiling is in the ballpark of 200 yards and maybe one or two
touchdowns per game? Is he ever going to have the kind of explosive
game we saw him have in New England?
• It seems like the Broncos are trying more and more to
make Knowshon Moreno their featured back, and I don't blame them.
Ever heard the expression "flatter to deceive"? That's what
Correll Buckhalter does to his owners in a
nutshell. Just when you think he's startable, he'll run for some
pathetically low yardage total. Can we just pull the plug on him
altogether next year, Josh?
Ravens 21, Raiders 13
•
JaMarcus Russell was benched midway through this
season, and he came on in relief in three of Oakland's final seven
games. He led a nice comeback in Denver, but wasn't able to pull it
off today. I really believe the Raiders have no idea what they want
to do with him next season. Surely they aren't going to go into
battle with
Charlie Frye as their leader, are they?
•
Michael Bush led the Raiders with 18 rushing
yards. I can't decide if that's hilarious or tragically sad. Al
Davis has some decisions to make for how he and his staff want to
sort out their backfield as well.
•
Joe Flacco was woefully inefective in Week 17.
It's not a good sign when
Willis McGahee rushes for 65 more yards than he
passed for. Flacco started the season on fire, but really fizzled
out in the second half. Was he figured out by opposing defenses?
Did he become scared of success? I really can't understand what
happened, and it has to be terrifying for Ravens fans who are about
to embark on another playoff adventure.
Packers 33, Cardinals 7
• It was kind of strange to see, but after Green Bay
raced out to a 14-point lead, the Cardinals pretty much decided
"Yeah, let's tank our last game of the season as well since we'll
see these guys again next week anyway."
• Sorry, I think it's time to call
Matt Leinart a bust. The offense just doesn't seem
to respond to him when he's under center the way they do for
Kurt Warner.
• Not much more to report on or speculate from this
one, really. Neither side wanted to show all their cards for next
week's playoff matchup. They, like so many other teams today, just
went through the motions.
Chargers 23, Redskins 20
• Two carries for one yard for L.T.? Wow. What's even
worse is that would have been somewhat comparable to his average
day had he managed to rush for a touchdown. Har.
•
Malcolm Floyd had nine catches for 140 yards, and
if he can carry that kind of momentum through the playoffs, we
could be looking at a nice sleeper for 2010. I'm not holding my
breath, though. Floyd has done next to nothing whenever he plays
against another team's full starting squad.
• If
Jason Campbell was auditioning for a job with
another team next season, I think he's done a mighty fine job at
it. Given the right system, he really could prosper. He's never
going to be a fantasy monster, but how can you complain about a guy
who will get you close to 300 yards and a pair of scores whenever
his offensive line decides to block for him?
Titans 17, Seahawks 13
•
Chris Johnson solidified his position as the No. 1
overall draft pick for next season, in my opinion. He topped 100
rushing yards in every single game since Week 6, with most of them
going comfortably over 100. Don't forget the sizable receiving
yards he added more often than not. This guy does everything, and
he's surpassed AD as the consensus No. 1 guy.
•
Vince Young was a hot pickup for a while, then
sort of limped to the finish line. Every quarterback can get on a
roll for a period of time, but the ones who consistently put up
good numbers are the ones you should prefer to target in your
drafts. Young will probably never be more than a servicable QB2.
•
Justin Forsett outgained
Julius Jones on the ground yet again, despite
receiving fewer carries. I have to imagine Forsett will separate
himself from Jones early next preseason and turn himself into a
solid RB1. These are the kinds of topics we'll visit throughout the
offseason, and I'll be looking forward to your feedback. Thanks so
much for following this season, and on behalf of everyone at
FoxSports.com, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2010.
